herniated and bulging discs...

[MHunterL]

I originally herniated my L4 in 2008, when I was 18 playing high school football. An orthopedic surgeon told me to give it time to heal. He didn't want to do surgey on me because of my age. Well I went to PT, and tried to stay active. One morning after going on a light 1.5 mile run I awoke to my left leg completely numb and immobile. I went into the er where a new MRI showed the L4 and now the L5 bulging as well. The doctor said I had a meowing of the spinal canal, and my lumbar was bending out the wrong way some. I deal with numbness from the bottom of the knew down, shooting pain from my lower back down my legs and what feels like someone sticking an icepick into my lumbar are where the discs are. It has now been 5 years, it has not healed and I now have a pinched nerve up in my neck which causes tingling and aching in my left arm down to my fingers. I have tried injections, pt, stretching, nothing has helped and pt makes it hurt worse. I'm only 23, and I can't see having this lack of quality of living forever. I had a pain specialist tell me to learn to live with it. I don't really accept that, an d I guess my question is would a fusion help, and how bad is the immobility in the area of the fusion?

[MHunterL]

Thanks for the response. I have a personal massage therapist who comes to my house 3 days a week. it helps my back spasms and cut down on the muscle pain but that damn feeling of having an ice pic stuck into my back doesn't go away. I mean I have my good days and bad, but the good days are like me as a 17 year old again just I feel like a group of guys jumped me the night before so,.they aren't that good of days. Does anyone have an idea what is wrong in my spine that makes it feel like that? I mean I'm an athlete so I know the difference between muscle aches and pains and bone pain. Why do some people have herniated discs and just have some spasms and nerve pains while other people like me have that and the bone pain? My mother has degenerative joints and degeneration in her back so I'm assuming I'm already genetically predisposed to degeneration? The er doctor a few years ago so he saw signs that I could be having degenerative disc disorder, I believe is what it is called. What happens with that? Would that explain why I went from having 1 herniated disc, then a year later a bulging disc with that, and a year and a half after that 2.bulging discs with the 1 herniated disc?

[seeingblue]

Have you tried massage.? Your immobility would be slight. Like not being able to strecth all the way to your toes or you would bring your foot to your lap to tie your shoe. If your in shape and young you can bounce back. If you wait to long for surgery you can cause permenent nerve damage. Have you heard of drop foot. Not cool for a young guy. Get as many opinions till you feel comfortable. Sometimes they can go in and cut off the disc that is hitting the nerve without fusion.